Twelve Apostles Church in Trinity hosts Gospel Music Arts and Culture competition

The Twelve Apostles Church in Trinity and the Gauteng Provincial Youth Committee held a Gospel Music Arts and Culture competition at Turffontein’s Uniao Cultural Recraeativa Desportiva on April 20.

This event featured 120 of Gauteng’s 128 choirs from five regions.

“Eight choirs did not pitch because of unforeseen circumstances, which was the death of their leader’s wife. They had to attend the funeral on the same weekend,” said Vilisizwe Mfeka, deputy secretary of the Gauteng Provincial Youth Committee.

The different choirs were from East Rand, Soweto, Vaal, Westrand 1 and Westrand 2 regions.

This was the second round of the Gospel Music Arts and Culture competition, as these choirs had previously competed in the first round on June 16, 2023, held in commemoration of June 16.

All the choirs that attained positions one, two, and three in the regional competitions qualified to enter the provincial competition.

The 120 choirs competed in 12 categories, including traditional, contemporary, Afro gospel, spiritual gospel, dramatised poetry, poetry, dance, choral pieces and instruments.

The event featured adjudicators from the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. It was a tough competition that required professionals on the panel.

According to Mfeka, judgments ranged between categories. There was a choral category that focused on choral sounds; a traditional category that focused on the movements the choirs made while singing; and a contemporary category in which the choirs had to demonstrate new church trends, how the steps are performed, and how they are evolving.

The event took a musical and technological approach, with the competition marking a watershed turning point for the music and arts industry.

Mfeka highlighted how well-prepared the choirs were. They could tell the choirs competed on a provincial level, as the scores proved it.

The adjudicators also commented that the choirs were of exceptional quality, and the competition was fierce.
The competition prepared the choirs for the national level. The winners will compete in a nationwide competition in June 2025.

“We host such events because we want to be a church of all. We don’t want our members to see the need to go outside the church when they want to engage in these kinds of activities. The youth must be able to do things in the church.

“We are saving them from the outside world. Drugs and alcohol are a serious issue out there. We also want to nurture their talent.”

Mfeka mentioned the church started preparing for the event in October 2023.